Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in Saltash

If you have a long or wide garden in Saltash, there may be room for a home where a parent or grown-up child can live close by with their own front door. That might mean an annexe used with your house, or a home that stands alone with permission and paperwork of its own.

Cornwall Council decides either way, so the first step is to find out what your plot can realistically carry. Our free plot appraisal covers access, space, privacy and the main planning constraints, and talks through who the home is for, before you spend any money on drawings.

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Single-storey garden home with wide glazed doors and a covered porch at the back of a family garden
Planning authority
Cornwall Council
Postcodes
PL12
Noon sun, 21 March
About 40°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.0 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Cornwall

Before you decide in Saltash

Daylight matters twice over when the new home is for a relative who spends much of the day indoors. At noon on 21 March the sun in Saltash is about 40° above the horizon, so a two-storey eaves line around 5 m high casts a shadow of roughly 6.0 m. A single-storey annexe with eaves at half that height casts one about half as long, which is one reason low buildings often sit more easily in a garden. By late December the midday sun climbs only about 16°, so we test winter light on both homes, and on next-door gardens, before the layout is fixed.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Saltash: about 40 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 40°, shadow 6.0 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Saltash on 21 March sits about 40° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.0 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

The next steps, locally

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Saltash. You tell us about your plot and who the home is for, and we carry out a free desktop appraisal of access, space and the planning context. If it looks viable we visit, then set out the annexe and separate-home options. With your go-ahead we survey, design and give you a written quote, then prepare the application for Cornwall Council.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your plot, access and the planning picture from the desk, talk through who will live in the new home, and visit if it looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.

  2. Annexe or separate home

    We set out both routes for your plot, covering what each means for planning, ownership, council tax, CIL and VAT, so you can decide with your family and advisers before design starts.

  3. Survey and design

    A measured survey, then a design built around the person moving in: step-free routes, a ground-floor bedroom if needed and privacy for both households. You get a written quote after design and survey.

  4. Planning and approvals

    We prepare and submit the planning application and manage it with the council, which makes the decision. Before work starts, approval under the Building Regulations is in place and any CIL exemption has been claimed.

Worth checking early

  • Family plans change: agree ownership, costs and what happens if circumstances change in writing, with a solicitor.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.
  • CIL exemptions are lost if work starts before the claim is made, and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years.

Saltash: questions to ask

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Saltash?

Often not. HMRC’s guidance gives an annexe that can’t be used or sold separately from the main house as an example of work that can’t be zero-rated, and the DIY housebuilders refund scheme asks the same question. A separate dwelling is usually treated differently. Take advice from a tax adviser before you settle the planning route, because the wording of the permission matters.

Will an annexe in Saltash put up my council tax?

It might. Annexes can be banded separately, but exemptions exist for annexes lived in by certain dependent relatives, and in some cases a discount applies where family live there or the annexe is used as part of the main home. Who qualifies depends on the relative’s circumstances and how the annexe is used. Cornwall Council’s council tax team can tell you how the rules apply to your household.

Who owns an annexe built in my Saltash garden?

You do. An annexe stays on the title of your house and usually carries a planning condition tying it to the main home, so it can’t be transferred to the relative living in it. If a family member is paying towards it, record what they’ve put in and what happens on a sale in a written agreement drawn up by a solicitor.

Can you design a home in Saltash for a relative who uses a wheelchair?

Yes. The design can include a level approach and threshold, turning space in each room, a wet room, wider doors and worktops at a usable height. Where Cornwall Council requires a particular access standard through planning, the design meets it; otherwise it’s your choice how far to go. Input from your relative’s occupational therapist is well worth having.

Other options in Saltash

Family home in your garden near Saltash

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248